


Put On Your Running Shoes

by anaphiel



Category: Naruto
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Songfic, Zine piece, eternal rivals, one of guy's challenges
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2019-05-01 01:21:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14509395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anaphiel/pseuds/anaphiel
Summary: When Guy proposes one of his challenges, Kakashi takes it a step further and ups the stakes.Step up, lover. Big talker, take a numberI've got all day to wipe the smile off your faceIf I win, you're done withBut if you win, you win my heart. Isn't that what you want…





	Put On Your Running Shoes

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this piece for the "Eternal Rivals" Kakagai zine, and we finally got the go-ahead to share full pieces! I've been excited to share this one with you all for SO LONG.

 

Kakashi walks along a worn path, the leftover damp from that morning’s rain muting the usual kickup of dust. It had been cold, harsh rain, the kind that bites to the bone and sets your teeth chattering, and it made Kakashi’s trip to the Memorial Stone a bit unpleasant.

He’s on his way back into the village now, at least, his hands in his pockets and his gaze trained on the ground. He’d left the Memorial just as the rain petered out, and now all that remains of it is the squelch of Kakashi’s sandals whenever he takes a step, the fresh smell of morning and petrichor, and the gentle _drip, drip, drip_ of raindrops falling from the trees above to the puddles below. The damp, Kakashi could do without, as well as the rain damage to one of his favorite _Icha Icha_ books, but overall, he finds himself in a good mood. He has nowhere to be for the rest of the day, barring emergency missions, and intends to use the day to recoup, relax, and read.

He stops walking, closes his eyes, and tilts his face up toward the sky, enjoying the warmth of the sun and its strange contrast to the cold of his wet clothes. He listens to the sounds of morning. Among the birds’ calls and rustling leaves, a sudden crunch of gravel in front of him makes Kakashi’s eyes snap open and fix on the path. If he’s surprised to find Might Guy standing there, blocking his way, he doesn’t show it.

“Oh,” Kakashi says with a smile so bright it reaches all the way to his eyes, the one eye that’s visible scrunching up in delight, “Hello, Guy.”

“Hello, Rival!” Guy says, the sheer volume of his greeting making a bird in an overhead tree take flight. Guy clearly braved the morning rain as well; his wet hair juts out at odd angles and his water-darkened suit sticks to him in ways that make Kakashi blush under his mask. Excitement twists in Kakashi’s gut at Guy’s greeting. Guy usually only greets him as _rival_ when a challenge is about to ensue, and Kakashi’s _missed_ Guy’s challenges. They’ve both been so busy lately they’ve barely even _seen_ each other, let alone had time for games.

“What can I do for you?” Kakashi asks, voice pleasantly neutral, betraying none of his excitement.

“What can you _do_?” Guy asks, grinning. “Well, you can accept my challenge! You’re falling behind, Kakashi. I won the last _two_ challenges.”

“Did you? Huh. I guess I forgot,” Kakashi lies.

Guy’s smile falters, for just a moment. He blinks at Kakashi, then, unshakable as ever, bounces back, his smile returning even stronger than before. “There’s something _else_ special about today’s challenge, you know.”

“Is there?” Kakashi asks, not having to feign his surprise this time.

“It’s our hundredth challenge!” Guy yells, once again getting loud in his excitement. “This one has to be special!”

“Special, huh?” Kakashi asks, eyeing Guy. He hopes Guy doesn’t hear the fondness that creeps into his voice, but even so, he can’t help smiling at Guy again. Guy smiles back, his expression taking on a dreamy look. When Guy doesn’t explain, instead just smiling at Kakashi, Kakashi prompts, “Did you have anything in mind?”

“Oh,” Guy says, blinking and snapping out of his daze. “Ah...a sparring match?”

“That’s not _special._ Besides, you know I’d win. Mind if _I_ choose the challenge this time?”

Guy blinks at Kakashi, then beams and gives him a thumbs up. “That’s the spirit, Kakashi! Of course you can choose!”

Kakashi smiles, and excitement coils in his gut again. He has an idea. He’s had it for a while, just hasn’t had a chance to execute it. Stepping closer to Guy, lowering his voice to a purr, he says, “First, though, _rewards_. If I win, no more challenges like this. Ever.”

Guy’s eyes widen. He opens his mouth to protest, then shuts it, then opens it again. “I...but…” He stops, sighs, and nods, looking determined. “If that’s what you want.”

Kakashi shrugs and pokes guy in the chest, adding, “But if _you_ win, then you win...Hmm. How about my heart?”

Guy’s eyes go impossibly wider. “Kakashi?”

“Isn’t that what you want?” Kakashi asks, voice a little breathless. The excitement is tying knots in his stomach, now, and he’s really hoping he hasn’t completely misread Guy’s intentions.

“Well, I—,” Guy begins, then swallows. He laughs nervously. “Clever as always, Rival. How’d you know?”

Kakashi smiles. “After your _last_ challenge, Sakura said you were ‘more obnoxious than a little boy with a crush.’ It got me thinking.”

“Oh,” Guy says, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “So if I win—,”

“Let’s start with a kiss,” Kakashi finishes.

“Deal,” Guy says, almost fervently, before Kakashi even finishes speaking. His eyes drop to Kakashi’s mask. “What is your challenge, rival?”

“A race to the village gates.”

Guy frowns. “But I always win races. I’m faster than you, and you _know it_.”

“Maybe I’ll win this one,” Kakashi says with a shrug and a coy look. “You never know.”

Guy’s eyes widen again. “ _Oh_ ,” he breathes, and then he’s grinning again. “Oh. I see. Careful, Kakashi, or I’m going to think you _want_ me to win!”

“I won’t go easy on you, even if I do,” Kakashi says, and then adds, because it’s _Guy_ and he’d be remiss if he didn’t, “No opening any gates to win.”

Guy bends and picks up a large stone, turns it over in his hands. “I’ll see you at the gates then, Kakashi,” he says with a final grin, and then tosses the stone into the air. When it hits the ground, they both take off running.

As promised, Kakashi doesn’t go easy on Guy. Still, if he slips a few times more than usual on the way, that’s hardly _his_ fault— his damp sandals are to blame. In the end, even without the slipping, Guy would have crushed him. Kakashi’s never seen Might Guy move so fast in his life.

Guy is stretching, waiting casually for Kakashi when Kakashi finally joins him at the village gates. Kakashi, for his part, has to brace his hands on his knees and breathe heavily for a minute afterward to catch his breath. As he does so, Guy claps him on the back and says, “Good challenge, Rival! It looks like I won again!”

“Looks like you did,” Kakashi manages to pant.

“I’ll wait ‘till you’ve recovered to collect my reward,” Guy says smugly.

“How generous of you.”

When Kakashi finally straightens up, he finds Guy closer than he expected. It starts with a tentative arm winding around Kakashi’s waist, pulling him to Guy. Then, Guy’s fingers trace the edge of Kakashi’s mask, waiting for permission. Kakashi nods. Finally, _finally_ , Guy tugs Kakashi’s mask down and kisses him.

Kakashi feels his world _shift_ , just a little, clicking into place. He wraps an arm around Guy’s shoulders and kisses back, the smell of fresh rain clinging to them both and Guy’s lips soft against his own.

Kakashi has to break the kiss eventually, to breathe, to ground himself, to wait for the dizziness from _finally kissing Guy_ to pass. He tugs his mask up when he does, finally noticing the two chuunin at the welcome station, both of whom now stare at Kakashi and Guy in shock and mild horror. Guy laughs when he notices, and waves, and Kakashi’s heart swells with some immeasurably fond feeling, something he’s not ready to voice yet, something almost like _love._

“What do you say to another challenge, Kakashi?” Guy asks, turning to him and smiling, warmer and more genuine than Kakashi’s ever seen.

Kakashi lets out a breath. “I don’t know, Guy. Depends what it is.”

“A date. Race to Ichiraku, loser has to pay.”

Kakashi grins. “Fine. But if we’re doing another race, I get a head start, this time.”

“I don’t know if that’s—,” Guy begins, but Kakashi is already sprinting back toward the village. Guy laughs and takes off after him.


End file.
